2.Lydia Vance, Women

Why: Lydia's based on Bukowski's real life girlfriend, Linda King. When Lydia moves away to Phoenix, you can't help but wonder what happens to the eccentric sculptor, dancer, and poet.

Proof: "The door banged open and Lydia ran into the room. She stood there panting. The pint was on the coffee table. She saw it and grabbed it. I jumped up and grabbed her. When I was drunk and Lydia was insane we were nearly an equal match. She held the bottle high in the air, away from me, and tried to get out of the door with it..."

3.Lenina Crowne, Brave New World

Why: Everyone's infatuated with Lenina throughout Aldous Huxley's dystopia, and there's tons of speculation with her part in the novel's climax.

Proof: "And to tell the truth," said Lenina, "I'm beginning to get just a tiny bit bored with nothing but Henry every day." She pulled on her left stocking. "Do you know Bernard Marx?" she asked in a tone whose excessive casualness was evidently forced."

6.Rue, The Hunger Games

Why: Kind, smart, and easier to sympathize with than Katniss, Rue's an important part of what makes Katniss leap off the page as a compassionate protagonist.

Proof: "First they show a photo of the tribute, then flash their score below it. The Career Tributes naturally get in the eight-to-ten range. Most of the other players average a five. Surprisingly, little Rue comes up with a seven. I don’t know what she showed the judges, but she’s so tiny it must have been impressive."

7.Marylou, On The Road

Why: Based on Luanne Henderson, Marylou was integral to Kerouac's novel. Luanne married Neil Cassady at 15, and was dumped three years later. She was a large inspiration for both Beat writers.

Proof: "Marylou was a pretty blonde with immense ringlets of hair like a sea of golden tresses; she sat there on the edge of the couch with her hands hanging in her lap and her smoky blue country eyes fixed in a wide stare because she was in an evil gray New York pad that she’d heard about back West, and waiting like a longbodied emaciated Modigliani surrealist woman in a serious room."

8.Jordan Baker, The Great Gatsby

Why: Chill, independent, and unsympathetic, the athlete and flapper would hold her own as the leading protagonist of her own spin-off.

Proof: "'Nevertheless you did throw me over,' said Jordan suddenly. 'You threw me over on the telephone. I don't give a damn about you now, but it was a new experience for me, and I felt a little dizzy for a while.'"

9.Phoebe Caulfield, The Catcher in the Rye

Proof: "You'd like her. I mean if you tell old Phoebe something, she knows exactly what the hell you're talking about. I mean you can even take her anywhere with you. If you take her to a lousy movie, for instance, she knows it's a lousy movie. If you take her to a pretty good movie, she knows it's a pretty good movie."

14.Marla Singer, Fight Club

Why: Marla might be the biggest mystery of Fight Club. One the novel's only female characters, Marla hangs around sick people to boost her confidence, but forces Tyler to confront his own insecurities.

Proof: "Marla's philosophy of life is that she might die at any moment. The tragedy, she said, was that she didn't."